Mixed Genre Books

What is the role of music in advertising? When the music swells as a mother cradles her dying child in a film is it the music of the moment which captures our attention and emotions? These are the type of questions dealt with by Nicholas Cook in this intriguing journey into music's role in multimedia.

For something to be a medium does not mean that it is 'just' a medium. Cook rightly asserts that "the idea that anything can be 'just' a medium has... look precarious since the days of Marshall McLuhan"(pg. 261). Rather Cook upholds the value of the medium in the construction of meaning: "my argument [is] predicated on the assumption that media such as music, texts, and moving pictures do not just communicate meaning, but participate actively in its construction. They 'mediate' it." (pg. 261). According to Cook meaning in multimedia lies in the encounter between music and other media (pg. 270). If these ideas interest you, read this book.

Based on a true history of her husband's family (and illustrated by her artist husband, Gene Powell), Ms. Powell's first novel is a sensitive and gripping tale of a boy learing to deal with his personal fears and his place in society. He must guide a horse team sled loaded with lumber across a thawing lake. During the crossing, we learn of his history and why his family has treated him as an outcast.

It's particularly appropriate for pre-and teen readers, although adults will certainly enjoy it as well.

from website:
"Bob Chilcott and Susan Knight have searched the globe for vibrant, exciting music representing a wide range of choral traditions and styles-from a powerful arrangement of an old Armenian hymn to a percussive Dominican "villancico," a carol in the style of Nigerian art music, a Polish folk carol, a new arrangement of popular Canadian carol, and much more besides. Each piece may be sung in its original language or in English, and pronunciation guides are provided for those who wish to sing the original texts. This collection will help to refresh the repertoire of choirs the world over, with most pieces suitable for choirs of all sizes and abilities. 31 carols for mixed voices."

although this book was better than the first two book in the hudson series, it still wasn't great. when grandmother hudson dies, rain is to inherit millions. aunt victoria, on the other hand, has other plans for rain. rain thought her aunt was crazy before, but she never realized just how crazy she was until rain is forced to live her after a devastating accident. rain is just about to give up on life, until she meets austin clarke, a physical therapist. it was love at first site. aunt vicortia doens't like rain hanging out with austin, and she takes drastic measures to keep them apart. just when rain thinks that her life couldn't get any worse, rain finds herself in a situation where she has to fight for her own life.

I must say that I was rather fascinated with this novel. I never took the oppurtunity to read any V.C. Andrews books and am glad to have done so. I feel that Eye of the storm is the best of The
Hudson Family Series. I feel Rain is a Heroin. To be as strong and faithful no matter what card she was dealt is so inspiring. Despite all her hardships she pulled thru. This was a real page turner for me. I read it in 3 hours. I was so impressed by this that I would strongly recommend any true V.C. Andrews fan to read this particular series if they haven't already. I'm now in the process of reading The End of the Rainbow. After that i feel that there are many more V.C. Andrews novels i'll move on to reading.

Some may say that Rain was better than most of the gostwriter series, but seriously ...
The only good series the gostwriter ever wrote were the Logan, Cutler, and Orphans.
The rest ... well lets just say thats a waste of eight bucks ... if you want a book to compare to the sensational My Sweet Audrina, or Heaven go out and buy Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden or Rebecca by Daphne Dumaurier.

After being disappointed with Lightning Strikes i was a bit skeptical with reading Eye of the Storm. This book was much better than the first two, focusing more on Rain than her family members. Alot of people in Rain's life were removed in this book, however, a few new people came into it. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly i read the book and look forward to finishing the series.

I'm not going to lie, but this was a guilty pleasure. But only a few parts could be considered so. When Allison told off Rain, of course. What I'm getting at is the fact that this book couldn't hold my interest long enough for me to keep reading it. At about page 200, I said, "Ahhh...I'll just put this book down and continue tomorrow." Tomorrow never came. The book is stuffed in my closet under a pile of dirty clothes that I never bothered washing. Maybe that's where it belongs - I don't know. I didn't like it. I suggest that you reread Heaven if you want REAL entertainment and REAL V.C. Andrews. Of course, it's always a cure for insomnia. I fall asleep and sleep like the dead. Heaven help me, but I can't believe I wasted eight dollars on this. I could have bought something more worthwhile. Now I'm going to crawl into a dark corner and bemoan about the fact that there's another miniseries being regurgitated by these people... "sob"